Wedding Photographer Buys Film on Amazon—Can’t Believe What’s Inside - Newsweek

A wedding photographer who bought film roll on Amazon was left deeply regretting that decision after arriving at the venue and then realizing what was actually inside the canisters.

Katie Hunt has photographed plenty of weddings over the years, and her experience has allowed her to build a reliable routine with her team at KD Hunt Photography. However, it seems that even now, Hunt is thrown the occasional curveball that she cannot predict.

The 33-year-old from Greensboro, North Carolina, was scheduled to photograph a wedding on September 10, and as a precaution, she bought some extra film rolls online. While she is predominantly a digital photographer, Hunt bought two five-packs of Portra 400 35-millimeter film from an Amazon seller. She told Newsweek that the seller had 4.5-star reviews, so she did not expect anything out of the ordinary.

However, it was only when she arrived at the wedding venue that she saw what was inside.

“There were one or two gravel type rocks in every canister,” Hunt said.

Hunt was stunned but thankfully did not let that stop her from capturing the newlywed couple’s special day. She has since contacted Amazon and believes that it was not the seller’s fault after all.

“I have been talking to Amazon directly and we think it was someone that purchased the item, took the film out of the canisters, then replaced them with the rocks before sealing everything very well (to the point of looking new and untampered),” Hunt said.

In a statement provided to Newsweek, Amazon spokesperson Lex Evans said they have “made this right with the customer and will continue looking into this."

Hunt was able to return the canisters and was given a full refund. She has also sent images of the canisters to Amazon’s customer support team so they can investigate further. Although it has proven to be quite the ordeal, Hunt says the Amazon worker was “extremely nice and apologetic.”

Fortunately, the film rolls bought online were only meant to be additional options in case Hunt ran out on the day. She was still able to “photograph the wedding perfectly” and didn’t miss a moment.

This has, however, put her off buying film rolls on Amazon in the future.

“The film that had the rocks in was just extra that I was going to have my second photographer use, so she didn't have to use her own,” Hunt said. “I had enough of my own film to fulfill the contracted services. I am primarily a digital photographer anyway, so film is just added into the package as an extra, but not necessarily what I am hired for."

She added: “I have been using Amazon for years and always had a good experience, getting exactly what I ordered. This was truly the first time I have ever had an issue.”

Following the ordeal, Hunt shared a video on TikTok (@kdhuntphotographyllc) showing the moment she realized what was inside the canisters. The clip has gone viral with over 2.3 million views and 144,500 likes on TikTok at the time of writing.

The overwhelming response has led many people to ask why one of her colleagues was filming the moment she saw the rocks inside the canisters for the first time.

“I had my assistant recording because I often have someone capturing the behind the scenes on full wedding days to show potential clients what it’s like to work with me. I usually get bookings this way because they get to see how I pose, prompt and see my personality,” Hunt told Newsweek.

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Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Marc Vargas and Anthony Murray.